Bridging the gap for regional Queenslanders

Bridging the gap for regional Queenslanders

SIGNIFICANT public policy changes and supporting the unique needs of rural and remote communities are two challenges facing care providers in regional Queensland, says Blue Care.

Blue Care Group Executive Regional and Remote Services Michelle McKay said it highlighted why support was vital to the regions.

"Consumer-directed care in aged care services means providers have had to change their focus on how they provide care to ensure they are meeting the individual needs of their clients," Ms McKay said.

"The changes provide greater flexibility for the client to have more control over their care and it is important that providers have the agility to respond to this."

"Blue Care has been providing community and health services for more than 60 years, throughout which time we have adapted to a multitude of government policy changes.

"Our experience and deep understanding means we have a unique ability to guide our clients and their families through the complexity of these changes."

Ms McKay said Blue Care provided services that enabled people to remain independent and live their life their way and has established new services and programs to ensure clients had greater access to more personalised and tailored services.

"We are fortunate in that sense due to the scale of our network," she said.

"We are able to provide a wide range of services from physio or occupational therapy to nursing and wound management," she said.

"Our service model provides integrated services like services in the home, flexible respite, retirement living and residential aged care.

"Blue Care services reach from Thursday Island down to Coolangatta and as far west at Mt Isa. All of our services are within a 20 minute drive for over 80% of Queenslanders."

She said technology was also helping to bridge the gap for regional Queenslanders to ensure clients had access to quality care and support.

"We know that if you're living in a rural or remote area, services may not be as accessible compared to living in a metropolitan area," she said.

"We have just launched our 'care technology' project, in partnership with Telstra Health. The program provides a remote clinical monitoring system enabled through a tablet computer to measure blood pressure and glucose levels which the client does themself, and the results are analysed by a health professional on the other end."

Technology also works to aid the socially isolated elderly.

Blue Care also runs a book club where people can engage with each other in a virtual community from the comfort of their own homes.

With the rapid changes taking place in the health and community service sectors across the state, Ms McKay said those seeking advice and information should turn to Blue Care.

"We've been providing community and health services for more than 60 years, throughout which time we have adapted to a multitude of government policy changes," she said.

"Our experience and deep understanding from working with all levels of government means we have the opportunity to assist our clients and their families through these processes.

"We're already assisting clients accessing National Disability Services funding and supporting them to plan for what packages they may need to access for their requirements."